Thank you NetGalley and Anthony Horowitz for this advanced copy. I've read every book in this series so far and Moonflower Murders certainly did not disappoint.

I found it so fascinating to be reading a book within a book, with two murder mysteries to solve instead of one! I guessed part of the Atticus Pund mystery but the mystery of missing Cecily was beyond my capabilities.

I enjoy Susan Ryeland as our reluctant heroine and though the motley cast of characters were very well thought out. The setting felt contemporary in a comforting way, we still have the grand hotel you find in most Agatha Christie novels but there is a different kind of substance to this novel, it felt a little darker, a little more tense which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I do hope there is another instalment in this series as I'd love to read more, if poor Andreas can bear it!

Just finished this book - I absolutely loved it and couldn't put it down.

I found the way the book was structured - with a book within the book - extremely engaging. The plot (or should I say plots) is excellent, and gives you a lot to think about whilst trying to solve the mystery. There are many interesting characters (some likeable, others definitely not so!). I also liked the way there were nods to other fictional detective authors here and there. I was pleased that I managed to unravel some of the plot, but also that I didn't solve the whole thing (where would be the fun in that?).

Although I've read other titles by Anthony Horowitz, I haven't read any others in this series but will certainly seek them out now.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

I didn't think Anthony Horowitz would be able to pull it off again. Magpie Murders was such an innovative idea: to have a whole detective story inside a modern murder mystery was genius. I was so absorbed by Atticus Punt Takes the Case that I nearly forgot about the overarching story. Moonflower Murders is equally as good, and full of enjoyably flawed characters.

Despite moving on to new challenges in Crete, Susan Ryeland can’t seem to shake her connection to Alan Conway and his Atticus Pund novels. Conway’s horrendous habit of twisting real life for his own sly creative gains has Susan playing detective once again with a missing woman, a murder and a possible miscarriage of justice. But can she follow Conway’s unusual breadcrumbs before there is more tragedy?

I was overjoyed to learn that Magpie Murders would have a sequel as it was one of the most fiendishly clever books that I have ever read. And I just knew that Moonflower Murders would live up to the quality of the first one. I feel that you don’t just read one of Horowitz’s stories; you are fully immersed in his characters trials & tribulations at your fingertips. I certainly was with Moonflower Murders. I adored the references and homages to the golden age of crime writing, you can tell this is done with true affection and respect. Horowitz’s skill as a writer is envious, the way he crafts the layers of the book within a book concept is outstanding and the cryptic clues are joyous.

Moonflower Murders is a literary delight and I can't wait for more people to discover it's charms.

I’m rather ambivalent about Moonflower Murders. Anthony Horowitz is an excellent writer and parts of this book are very enjoyable, but overall I found it a bit of a slog.

This is the follow-up to The Magpie Murders and again features Susan Ryeland, now an ex-publisher and living in Crete, who again is called on to solve a murder using clues from an Atticus Pund novel, this one which published by her eight years before. A man has been convicted of a horrible killing at a swanky country-house hotel, but a woman who has since disappeared has left a message saying that one of Alan Conway’s books contains the clues to the real murderer.

It’s a classic golden-age set-up which is done very well, and I found the introductory section featuring and narrated by Susan very good. However, the central section of the book is the whole of the Pund mystery, which I found rather dull and hard going. As a pastiche it didn’t grab me in the way some real golden age mysteries do. The final section is Susan’s solution of the mystery which picks up again, but even allowing for the genre is a little over-contrived. It is also somewhat prone to self-congratulation as Horowitz, in the guise of showing how clever Alan Conway’s writing has been, tells us rather insistently how clever he has been. There’s no need for him to do this because he’s so obviously a very skilled and imaginative writer and I found it just a little cringe-inducing.

To be honest, I ended up skimming a good deal of the book-within-a-book. The rest was fun but overall I didn’t enjoy this as much as some of Horowitz’s other work.

(My thanks to Random House, Century for an ARC via NetGalley.)

I have not read any novels by this author and understand that a previous book Magpie Murders, introduces us to some of the characters that appear in this book.
Susan Ryeland, is an amateur investigator and previous editor of Atticus Pund books, she is now running a hotel on Crete with her boyfriend.
Susan is asked to investigate a murder.
Agatha Christie certainly inflenced this writers style.
I have read many whodunits, and in my honest opinion, this is just another average one, the plot is neither gripping or original.
I want to thank NetGalley, Random House Uk, Cornerstone and author Anthony Horowitz for a pre-publication copy to review.

<b> "The greatest evil occurs when people, no matter what their aims or their motives, becomes utterly convinced that they are right" </b>

4,5 ⭐️

When I found out about the existence of "Moonflower Murders" I think I gave a little shriek. Follow up to "Magpie Murders", one of my favorite books of the last years, I even tried to bribe the author on Twitter to get my Netgalley request approved (Shameless! Me, not him. He didn't even respond to my pathetic bribery attempt).

When after several weeks pending my request was finally approved I decided to read it inmediately even though it will be published in August and I'm so glad I did. I enjoyed it tremendously!

Two years after "Magpie Murders" events, retired publisger Susan Ryeland is living in Crete, running a small hotel with her boyfriend Andreas. When a british couple visiting ask her for help with their daughter's disappearance and its possible link to a murder eight years before, she goes back to England to investigate.

I absolutely love the author's writing style and his obvious homage to the Golden Age of detective fiction. Once again he delivers a book within a book (I would gladly read all the Atticus Pünd novels) with such an ingenious plot that it's not till the last pages when all the clues are revealed. And you have to be a good storyteller to be able to tie the clues of not only one but two different murder mysteries, independently and between each other.

If I'm rating this 4,5 ⭐️ instead of 5 is because the Atticus Pünd story took a little time to take off.

We're just in June but I can say now without fear of being wrong that "Moonflower Murders" will be one my top 10 books of the year.

Waiting anxiously to meet back Susan Ryeland very soon!

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK Cornerstone for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this book. I loved the plot the pace the tone and the story. I always want to describe the story but feel that you need to enjoy the story and let it unfold rather than have it handed to you. Please read. Enjoy!

Anthony Horowitz has followed up the brilliant Magpie Murders with another excellent story weaving a current crime with a classic murder mystery written within. The Agatha Christie style “tale within” the book captures the essence of the traditional classic and keeps the reader guessing as to whodunnit but how it is connected to the contemporary crime. The character of Susan Ryeland is believable and her frustration about her current life mixed with life within the publishing industry and how she approaches the murders kept me hooked and entertained. I devoured this book in a couple of days. It is full credit to Anthony Horowitz that he has the talent to write tales of such originality and grab the reader. This book is highly recommended and will please readers of the Magpie Murders.. As with the Daniel Hawthorne books which originally include AH as the narrator , this book is another piece of unique mystery writing.

This sequel, set three years after the events of Magpie Murders, begins with editor Susan Ryeland living in Crete and running a small hotel with partner Andreas. Two visitors arrive and ask for Susan's help in discovering the whereabouts of their missing daughter Cecily which may be linked to a murder that occurred on her wedding night 8 years previously. Jaded by the demands of the hotel, missing the literary world and in need of money, Susan accepts their offer and returns to England.

Horowitz has written another great mystery. I particularly like his confidence when referencing and overturning conventions of the crime fiction genre. The story within a story, with an Alan Conway Atticus Pund novel having a connection to the case, adds to the complexity and interest. Pure enjoyment!

I was really excited to receive a preview copy of Moonflower murders after thoroughly enjoying Magpie Murders. I looked at the length of the book and couldn’t believe I had read it so quickly. A true reflection on how clever and intriguing it was. I can not recommend it highly enough. The modern story is excellent and the book within the book is so reminiscent of an Agatha Christie mystery. I didn’t guess any of the murderers and despite all the clues being there they are so well hidden the reveals were all surprises. Anthony Horowitz is an amazing author and if I could award more than 5 stars I would. Faultless
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read a preview copy.

Anthony Horowitz has written yet another labyrinthine whodunnit that pays homage to Golden Age Detective fiction. In Moonflower Murders readers will be reunited with Susan Ryeland, a former editor who now runs a small hotel in Crete with her partner Andreas. Running a hotel is exhausting and Susan, nostalgic about her old life, years for a break. It just so happens that she's approached by a couple, the Trehearnes, own a five-star hotel, Branlow Hall, in Suffolk. Eight years previously a guest was brutally murdered in his room. Susan just so happens to have edited a book that was inspired by this murder (Alan Conway's Atticus Pünd Takes the Case). The Trehearnes' daughter, Cecily, disappeared after telling them that Alan's novel holds the truth behind the 2008 murder. The Trehearnes hire Susan, hoping that her knowledge of the book and her ties to the now deceased Alan will shed light on Cecily's disappearance. Similarly to Magpie Murders the novel is divided between Susan's narrative and Alan's novel.
While it does take a stretch of the imagination to believe that the Trehearnes would hire Susan and not a private detective to find what happened to their daughter, I soon fell into the flow of story. Susan's presence at Branlow Hall ruffles quite a few feathers. There is Cecily's icy sister, the various hotel employees, Cecily's husband and their nanny...we have quite a large cast. Some of them hold Susan accountable for Alan's novel, others simply don't like the idea of her 'snooping' around. Yet Susan, who is determined to find out what happened to Cecily, knows that her disappearance is tied up to that fateful night in 2008.
While I did like the story-within-the-story technique in Magpie Murders, in this novel I was far more invested in Susan's 'reality' than Alan's book. In fact, as much as I like I Horowitz's writing, I did dislike Alan's. I found myself agreeing with Susan's comments about Atticus Pünd Takes the Case: Alan's narrative is populated by cruel caricatures of the 'real' people from Branlow Hall. I just didn't particularly care for Pünd and his investigation. Alan's novel seems a clumsy attempt at imitating Agatha Christie. His dialogues lack her wit and his detective is forgettable. I wish that Horowitz had also included a few relevant chapters from Alan's novel, rather than giving us the whole thing.
While many of the easter eggs and allusions in Alan's novel went over my head (was all that kerfuffle with the names truly necessary?), I knew the identity of the killer early on...which is perhaps inevitable given that Alan tries so hard to emulate the Queen of Crime (view spoiler). While I do understand that much of what I disliked in Atticus Pünd Takes the Case was intentional (as characters from Susan's narrative point out its many flaws), I still don't understand why readers should have to read the whole thing. Also, Alan's novel takes us away from the more interesting whodunnit.
For the most part I liked Susan's investigation. There were so many subplots and red-herrings that it was hard to keep all the facts straight but for the most part I was intrigued by the unfolding of her investigation.
Sadly, I couldn't help but noticing that Horowitz has written yet another book that casts homosexuality in a negative light. This is the third book by him (the other ones being Magpie Murders and The House of Silk) in which gay men are portrayed as morally corrupt (they are sadistic, pedophiles, liars, manipulative). Which...what gives Horowitz? Throughout Moonflower Murders characters make comments about 'what can and what can't be said' nowadays, which suggests some sort of awareness towards 'modern' sensibilities'. While I do not except, nor desire, for characters to be models of virtue, it seems odd to make your 3 gay characters either horrible, such as with Alan and Frank, or a former prostitute who leads an unhealthy and unfulfilling existence. Great representation...not. While there aren't any extremely likeable characters, Alan and Frank are perhaps the worst of the whole lot. When talking about Alan and Frank, other characters conflate their sexual orientation with their morally reprehensible behaviour. They will say 'I have nothing against gay men' and go on to say something that equates being gay with perversion. This is the second novel by Horowitz in which his main character doesn't challenge other characters' homophobic remarks (Susan...you've let me down).
In Horowitz's novels being gay makes you undesirable.
This whole thing bugged me so much that I was unable to become truly invested in the story. Still, I did like Horowitz's depiction of the publishing industry, and I was interested in Susan's observations about the editing process or writing in general.

This was far from a 'bad' whodunnit. While I was disappointed by the way gay characters were portrayed, Horowitz's writing is nevertheless engaging (and his quintessentially British humour gets to me). Atticus Pünd Takes the Case on the other hand, leaves a lot to be desired.

So very,very, clever; this ‘book within a book’ is full of surprises. Fiendishly plotted and with a cast of characters that could have come from the Golden Age of Crime Fiction. I also loved the settings, from the Greek Hotel to the Country House Hotel. I was totally hooked and highly recommend it. I’m now rushing to buy Magpie Murders.

You'll need your wits about you when reading "Moonflower Murders"; having introduced us to the fictional Atticus Pund and some of the modern day characters Mr Horowitz brings them and others together again in this fiendishly clever story within a story concept.

I cannot begin to imagine how he plots these stories but I am extremely glad that he does and he takes us on a sedate but exciting ride to the reveal in both the stories. Clues aplenty and I guessed whodunit but it was a pure guess as despite all the evidence I was unable to come up with a logical reason for the death(s).

I'm already looking forward to his next.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

It's safe to say I was extremely excited to get my hands on a copy of Moonflower Murders. It may not have blown me away quite as much as Magpie Murders (which was one of my top reads of 2019), but it was extremely clever nonetheless.

We have the same format of a book within a book. Personally, I found the premise of Susan Ryeland investigating a bit weak (she's a publisher after all, not a detective), but the story itself whizzes by. Anthony Horowitz style of writing is exceptionally easy to read and of course I did not see the ending coming.

A thoroughly enjoyable read, but if you've read Magpie Murders and were blown away by it as much as me, then don't go in with super high expectations to save disappointment.

Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz.
This is the first Anthony Horowitz book I have read. I wasn't aware this was the follow up to a previous book but, as such, I found it straight forward to read and this was not a problem. The book reminded me of Russian dolls, with the story within a story within a story. My mind did struggle with suddenly going from one story to another and while I happily solved the inner book, I had forgotten the connections to the outer story and struggled with trying to remember it and who was who. I can see that some folk will love this and all the subtle clues. Even though I read it on my tiny iPhone, I was unable to put it down and had to continue reading it until well into the night.

I loved this story. Every twisty turn, every clever bit of plotting, absolutely everything about this book was excellent.

Even though I knew when I started reading this book I would need to have my wits about me to try and spot all the clever little references and anagrams and playful little hints that would solve the mystery I still didn’t work it all out for myself.

I am very tempted to read it again straight away just to spot all those references.

It is pleasing when a  Publishing House contacts you to review a book. In this case Random House UK, Cornerstone to review Anthony Horowitz's latest novel. You do feel some pressure to review positively!  Unfortunately, I was extremely disappointed.

James Bond it is not! It is a gentle mystery that plods along without really grabbing attention. It starts off quite encouragingly with an ex Publisher now resident in Crete running a hotel / guest house. It is struggling so when the chance to earn £10,000 presents itself the opportunity is grabbed by Susan.

Penguin promotes the novel with this introduction "So when an English couple come to visit with tales of a murder that took place in a hotel the same day their daughter Cecily was married there, Susan can’t help but find herself fascinated.

And when they tell her that Cecily has gone missing a few short hours after reading Atticus Pund Takes The Case, a crime novel Susan edited some years previously, Susan knows she must return to London to find out what has happened.

The clues to the murder and to Cecily’s disappearance must lie within the pages of this novel."

Lucy Foley then goes onto describe it as 'A beautiful puzzle: fiendishly clever and hugely entertaining. A masterpiece.' 

Oh dear! Masterpiece is rather over the top! As soon as the plot transfers to the East Anglian countryside, the pace is pedestrian. Step by step Susan endlessly interviews family, hotel staff and other bit players often repeating the same story. As you would expect she starts to unravel the puzzle but so slow.

Typically if a book does not grab my attention quickly I will move onto another book. But as Anthony Horowitz has a reputation I plodded on. I finally gave up after reading 20%. Sorry but this was a disappointing novel.

I love the premise of this book which, like its predecessor Magpie Murders, nestles a modern Agatha Christie pastiche within its pages based on the supposition that the book-within-the-book contains a clue to the murder mystery in the present narrative.

But my criticism is the same as of Magpie Murders: the nested tale is just so laboured, over-long and wooden that it's a struggle to get through it. I don't know why Horowitz fails here since his present day narrative from Susan Ryeland is great: she's peppy and bright and I happily buy-in to her life with Andreas and the problems of her sister.

The solution, when it comes, is left-field and unconvincing but I can live with that - it's the dreary inset story which drags this down. So I'd happily follow more of Susan's investigations, I just wish Horowitz would be more Christie-like in the way she's so deft and light-handed in her books. Still - a fun read.

I just love these books. They are like Russian nesting dolls, a mystery in a mystery and clues within clues, all the traditional ingredients of a classic whodunit. The first one in the series I enjoyed and this one also delivered. It is just really good entertainment, well crafted, well written and so I really hope there will be more coming. Anthony Horowitz is a master at what he does. Extremely enjoyable escapism!